ABSTRACT
The grating is the heart of any monochromator for soft x-rays and a thorough understanding of the characteristics of different kinds of gratings is essential. Synchrotron radiation is generated profusely when relativistic, light charged particles are subject to a transverse acceleration. Thus, synchrotron radiation originates from relativistic electrons or positrons in a strong magnetic field, as in a synchrotron or storage ring. Computer codes are available which enable one to describe undulator sources in great detail. Computer codes for the finite element method (FEM) of analysis are more difficult to use than the aforementioned and are generally available only at some cost. Nevertheless, they are to be recommended. Thermomechanical problems refer not to the deformation of the optical surface of a mirror or grating but rather to the change in position of a mirror or grating in the beamline or of a magnet in the storage ring itself.
